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I woke to my bedroom door opening and the soft light from the hallway illuminating my face. I saw the figure turn and look behind themselves and saw that it was Mr. Aizawa. He cracked the door and sided across the floor to me. As he knelt, I felt his hand fall gently to my back.
“Midoriya,” he gently pushed my shoulder, “Midoriya, wake up.”
“Mr. Aizawa?”
He took a deep breath before speaking, “Get dressed, we have to go to the hospital.” I shot up in bed and he gently placed his hand on my knee, “remain calm.”
“What happened- who- where-“
He spoke over me “Your questions will be answered later.”
I looked him in the eyes and saw pain. Like he didn’t want to tell me what was about to happen, but rather I needed to experience it for myself. “Put on some casual clothes. Quickly, and calmly. Don’t wake the others.”
When Mr. Aizawa left the room I sat in bed for a moment. Checking my phone I saw a text from Kachan.
“What’s going on?” is all it said, sent at 3:57 AM.
I checked the time, it was 4:00 AM, then responded back, “I don’t know? Did Mr. Aizawa come to you as well?”
Before he could respond I jumped out of bed, pulled on some clothes. I grabbed my phone and headed to the lobby where I saw Kachan looking at his phone and Mr. Aizawa and Present Mic whispering by the window.
“Let’s go,” Mr. Aizawa said without looking at me and headed for the door. “Bakugo, go to bed.”
Present Mic placed his hand on my back and guided me towards the stairs, he whispered, “let’s go.”
Kachan looked at me, then back at his phone before heading to his room.
We walked down their stairs is pretty much silence. Mr. Aizawa was twirling his keys a lot.
Present Mic commented on my hoodie, “How did you manage to get your hands on a limited edition All Might hoodie,”
“It was a gift from All Might,” I said getting into Mr. Aizawa’s car. “He got it for me when I was training for midterms. Remember when I missed class for a few days? Well, he pushed me so hard I broke my pelvis after a fall and this was a gift with an apology card.”
“How did you beak your pelvis?”
“All Might punched me really hard.”
Present Mic chuckled, “Sounds like Toshinori wasn’t holding back.”
The rest of the car ride was silent, Mr. Aizawa would steal glances at me through the rearview mirror, almost like he wanted to say something but didn’t have the words.
“Tell me,” I said. “It’s four in the morning. You’ve pulled me out of bed, and taking me to a hospital. What’s going on?”
We sat in silence for a moment longer before Mr. Aizawa spoke. “I’ll share as much as I am able. Midoriya,” he took a deep breath and stopped at a red light. Mr. Aizawa turned and looked at me, “as your teacher it is my duty to prepare you for moments of crisis in fights. I have no way to prepare you for this.”
I started to get upset, “what is this? Who is in the hospital?”
Mr. Aizawa turned around when the light turned green.
Present Mic spoke in a low and kind voice, “Shota, if you can’t tell him, that’s okay. We talked about this, I can tell them.” Mr. Aizawa nodded. Present Mic looked back at me, “it’s All Might, he’s not doing very well. He called Shota around midnight saying he was having trouble moving around his home. Shota called me to assist in getting him to the hospital without media attention. The Hero Commission pulled some strings with emergency services to get him to the hospital where they were able to control the pain. But now he’s asking for you. He has something to say to you, so we fetched you.” Present Mic looked to Aizawa for approval, he only nodded. “We can’t answer any other questions because we don’t have the answers.”
Relaxed back into the seat and looked down. I felt empty, and full all at once. The last time I saw All Might was yesterday, we spared in the gym. He seemed perfectly fine- or as fine as he had been since fighting All For One.
As we pulled into the hospital parking lot I saw two nurses standing outside an entrance. We entered through a side door and were escorted to a staff elevator and up to the 7th floor.
“You’re bleeding,” Mr. Aizawa said.
I looked down to my hand and saw I had been picking at the scars.
“Here,” Present Mic reached in his pocket and pulled out a bandage then began to wrap my hand. “I haven’t said much on the way here because there isn’t much we know, I’m sorry Midoryia.”
The elevator doors opened and I saw Principle Nezu and Melissa sitting on the floor. Melissa’s eyes were red and puffy. I stepped out of the elevator and asked her what was wrong. Before she could catch her breath, Mr. Aizawa grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him.
Just then,my phone buzzed and I saw a text from Kacchan.
Kacchan: “When was the last time you saw All Might?”
My stomach jumped at that thought.
Me: “Yesterday. We sparred in the gym.”
Kacchan: From my oint of view he was going easy on you.
Me: Well, he did break my pelvis a few weeks back.
I walked behind Mr. Aizawa for a little longer until he stopped at a room. He poked his head in and then motioned us inside.
We saw All Might laying in bed. There were many wires connected to him, and the soft beep of his heart monitor.
Mr. Aizawa spoke as he placed his hand on All Might’s chest, “Toshinori.” All Might’s eyes slowly opened. “He is here. Would you like me to sit you up?” All Might gave a subtle nod and Mr. Aizawa slowly lifted his hospital bed. “Not too much so you can still rest, okay?”
“Thank you, Shota.” All Might looked over to me, then motioned me towards the bed as Mr. Aizawa exited the room. “I’m sorry to have you woken and brought here.”
All Might coughed really hard and was struggling to catch his breath. His hands were shaking as he lowered them from around his mouth. There was a mixture of mucus and specks of blood in his hands. As he caught his breath I pulled up a chair, beginning to understand what was going on.
“There are maybe an hour left,” All Might sighed. “And there is something I need to tell before it’s too late. About One For All, and your friendship with Young Bakugo.”
All Might began to reach for his water, so I picked it up and gently placed the straw in his mouth. When he finished drinking, he seemed even weaker than before.
“One For All can be passed down, both know this,” I nodded. “Midoriya, you passed it to Bakugo while you were on Nabu Island. You both fought well, hard, and are undoubtedly worthy of One For All. Because of this, your power is similar. I know you both want to be the number one hero, but don’t let that be the only thing you both accomplish. You are both heroes.”
As All Might struggled to draw in another breath. His eyes were soft and tired. His soul looked tired. “Young Midoriya. You have grown so much. Your heart is incredibly big, and so are those emotions of yours. You must channel this into your training and combat, especially since you haven’t mastered using One For All. Understand?”
I nodded and felt the tears begin to fall, “Yes, sir.”
His eyes closed for a long moment, he looked as though he was gathering courage before looking me in the eyes and speaking again. “I also want to apologize. I wasn’t there for you when you needed me. I thought it would be best if the other teachers taught you how to use your quark, help you make it your own and not what I’ve made of it. I now understand that you would have rather learned from me. I believe you to be correct and have realized the errors of my ways entirely too late. For that I am sorry.”
I looked away from him and took in a long deep breath as he continued to speak.
“Above all, I’m sorry for leaving you on that rooftop. For telling you quarkless people could not be heroes. I was wrong. What I said was wrong. “
I smirked looking down at the bed, “This would have been a lot easier if you were around. But I eventually learned by breaking every bone in my body.” All Might and I both chuckled. “I forgive you.” I looked back to All Might. His eyes were yellowing, and his chin had light red marks on it. “Just having someone around who understands what it was like to be quarkless. Just being there meant a lot to me and,” I felt the emotions creep up my throat and stopped talking. I laid my head on the bed and buried my face into my arms, “I just want to make you proud.”
As I rubbed my face into the blanket, I felt All Might’s boney hand stroke the side of my face. I looked up to him and saw tears in his eyes.
“Young Midoriya, I haven’t told you enough. I am so very proud of you.”
His words caught me off guard, and for once I was speechless. I let the tears overtake me. His hand dropped to my back. All at once, I felt that this is what the love of a father must be like, and I was about to lose it just a quickly as I had found it.
“All Might,” I took a deep breath. “You’ve always been like a father to me. I just need you to know that. I appreciate all that you’ve done for me, even the shortcomings.”
He closed his eyes and I saw tears seeping from his eyes, “That was the goal, Young Midoriya.”
The pair of us laid there for a long moment. I stopped sobbing after a few minutes and just looked at all Might. His eyes were closed, eyes sunken in and closed. I could see every detail of the bone in his face. How did I not notice this yesterday? How did I not see he was struggling?
Regardless, All Might has known for a while he was dying and chose to still fight and teach. This moment had to be anticipated for him for years. Is this how expected it to happen? Was he afraid to die?
I listened to the heart monitor for a moment longer before asking a question.
“Are you afraid to die?”
All Might answered, “no. I’m not. I’m not sure what’s on the other side, but I know I will be with those that I lost too soon, like Mirai Sasaki. I’ll finally get to be with my old friend, and for that I am excited.”
I felt rage building inside of me. He was so casual about dying.
“What should I do,” I asked curtly. “I can’t fill your shoes. Kacchan and I can’t do that together. You seem way to calm about dying and leaving all of this-.”
He cut me off, “That isn’t the point.” All Might fell into another coughing fit. He cleaned the blood from his mouth and cleared his throat.
I asked, “What do you mean?”
“Don’t follow in my path. Look at where I ended up,” he looked furious as he spoke. “There are two of you and one of me. You balance each other out very well, are phenomenal students and will be wonderful professional heroes rather you work collaboratively or at separate agencies. Use me as a template and break that mold. You both have One For All and a hero’s spirit. You both could forge a new path for what the number one hero and the symbol of peace mean for the world. They don’t have to be one in the same.” He cleared his throat again and then spoke, “as for dying, everyone dies.”
My voice was almost a whisper as I spoke, “I’m sorry. I’m angry, and I don’t know why. But you’re so casual about it.”
All Might managed a smile, “Young Midoriya, I have been in pain for quite some time. Physical, mental, and emotional. This isn’t a bad thing.”
I felt the tears begin to flow again, “But then I’ll be alone.”
“You’re never alone,” he smirked. “I and all the others who used One For All before you live inside of you. Nothing can change that.”
“But sometimes,” I said, “I need someone with skin on.” Unable to control my emotions again I paid my head into the bed and began to sob once more.
“I know,” he said placing his hand on my head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me to be.”
We didn’t say anything for a long moment. Might kept clearing his throat, his breathing began to sound rusty. As he caught his breath Mr. Aizawa walked in with a nurse. The nurse asked All Might how much pain he was in, they only locked eyes. The nurse put a shot of clear liquid into his veins and unplugged the saline bag. All Might began to relax into his bed.
“There isn’t much time,” All Might signed, he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, and we could hear flehm in his lungs, “Will you two see me off?”
Mr. Aizawa and I pulled more comfy chairs around All Might’s bed side. We made small talk about how important he is to Japan and the world. Mr. Aizawa told me stories of how All Might saved a classroom from a strength-type villain, his philanthropy and his passion for long-distance running. All Might began to struggle more as his breathing became labored at around seven in the morning. His breathing sounded like a rattle, like something was trying to get out.
Mr. Aizawa went to get a nurse, when he returned, he gave us the news I knew was coming and was preparing for.
“These are his final moments,” the nurse said. “We’ve been giving him morphine, so he won’t experience much pain if any. The saliva and mucus are collecting in the back of his throat as he’s losing the ability to swallow.”
“Can you alleviate his discomfort,” I asked.
“All Might asked us not to lengthen his passing process, only to provide comfort.”
Rage began to fill me, and I yelled, “this is discomfort, he could drown on his own spit.”
The doctor slowly shook his head, “he gave us very clear direction. I cannot assist.”
Mr. Aizawa placed his hand on my shoulder.
We sat in silence, listening to All Might struggling to breathe, knowing there was nothing we could do. I could feel the weight of every passing breath as they became shallow. His heart rate began to slow as well as his breathing. The EKG beeps became longer and longer apart until an alarm sounded. The doctor stopped the alarm and continued to monitor his heart rate.
“Midoriya,” Mr. Aizawa spoke softly. “There are a few minutes left. I want you to know that you don’t need to stay for his passing.”
I took All Might’s hand and placed it on my head, resting my head on his bedside.
Mr. Aizawa nodded. “Okay,” He stood and caressed All Might’s face. “It’s time to go home, Toshinori.” He whispered, “You don’t need to hang on any longer. I promise.” He placed his head against All Might’s and began to cry. “I’ll take care of him like you asked me to. There is nothing for you here now.” His face was turning pink as he spoke, “Hisashi and I know about the power. You told us what to do. We won’t let harm come to him. You can go.”
I rubbed All Might’s hand and nodded, “You can pass on, sir” I whispered through thick tears. “You’ve done enough, All Might.”
As his breathing got slower, I turned my head to the side and placed All Might’s hand on my face, gently rubbing his hand.
Mr. Aizawa’s forehead was still pressed to All Might’s when the energy in the room shifted. All at once everything felt unbelievably heavy and then light and airy as All Might’s chest rose and fell time. The EKG flatlined
“Time of death,” I heard a doctor say, “7:43 am.”